The International Law Students Association is a non-profit association of students and lawyers who are dedicated to the promotion of international law. ILSA provides students with opportunity to study, research, and network in the international legal arena. The organization's activities include academic conferences, publications, the global coordination of student organizations, and the administration of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Chanel Chauvet

Chanel Chauvet is a third-year law student at University of Georgia School of Law (UGA Law). She is pursuing a career in public international law, with a focus on international humanitarian law and international criminal justice. As the 2017-2018 Student President, her primary goal is to cultivate a future where ILSA members are best situated to tackle international challenges in various legal sectors and to assist ILSA members in achieving their fullest potential despite various obstacles.

Since the beginning of her law school journey, she has been heavily involved in international-related activities. In October 2016, she won the Outstanding Delegate Award for the Committee on Peace and Security in the Southeastern Model African Union competition. As Captain, she also helped her team secure the Best Delegation Award and advance to the Nationals competition in Washington D.C. In March 2017, she presented her research paper entitled “Syria’s Responsibility under International Law to Protect Children from Warfare Attacks on Hospitals and Healthcare” at the IntLawGrrls 10th Annual Conference. Currently, she serves as a Student Ambassador for the Dean Rusk International Law Center, and a Research Assistant to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s Special Adviser on Children in-and-Affected by Armed Conflict. Furthermore, she is an active student member of the American Society of International Law and a 2017 BASIL scholar.

Her career achievements include being a Gate City Bar Association Judicial Fellow, where she clerked for Chief Judge Gail S. Tusan in Atlanta, Georgia. At the conclusion of this fellowship, she traveled to The Hague, The Netherlands to study international humanitarian law at The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies at Leiden University. To further enhance her understanding of international relations and the nuances of the international community, she explored cities and sites in England, France, Germany, as well as the United States, including visits to the United Nations Headquarters and the International Criminal Court. She has since used her education and experiences to help other internationally legal-minded students navigate their own related experiences via her leadership positions at UGA Law, and her personal communications. During her 2L summer, she was the Legal Fellow at the headquarters of CARE, a global humanitarian organization that provides support, solutions, and relief to impoverished areas of the world.

As a result of her experiences, Chauvet has learned that the strongest solutions to current challenges will come from spaces of exchange where ILSA members are afforded opportunities to enhance our international legal educations by learning about other cultures and legal systems. This is something that is so important at this time. Therefore, as ILSA’s Student President, she plans to utilize the strengths of our collective chapters and cultures, so that we can work to improve ILSA’s academic, advocacy, networking and research opportunities. Fortunately, ILSA provides a common entity in which we can work to capitalize on our resources for the benefit of our members and organization overall. Some of the fundamental steps in achieving this goal includes increasing visibility of our organization within international law by utilizing our academic, social and legal networks to promote our student members, and by virtue, ILSA. To further support this goal, Chauvet also plans to improve the channels between its student members and attorneys through a global mentorship program that would create portals of access to desired career positions and locations. This initiative would begin to dismantle some of the barriers that prevent some students from achieving their fullest potential.

Overall, Chanel Chauvet is extremely enthusiastic about ILSA and its potential for growth. She plans to play a vital role in supporting local chapter leadership and amplifying each individual member’s influence and impact within international law. This will partially be accomplished through the coordination of international conferences and competitions in the next year, chief among these being the International Law Weekend in New York, and the International Jessup Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C.